Chong Qin 重庆

[chialc]

sorry， 爱莫能助。

[chialc]

I'm in Chong Qin and need to return back to ChengDu.

Instead of returning by train (which is how I came in the first place), I decided to join a tour group. I will take a slow ride of 3 days 2 nights going to LeShan 乐山 and 娥媚山 . All inclusive tour at less than 500RMB. This gives me a chance to gain a first hand experience of a truely Chinese tour group....

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I am quite excited because I had not been joining a tour group for many many years. All the while, I had been always on my own.

I need to reach our gathering point at 6am and I'm already wide awake at 5:30am.

I wave and got a taxi easily at the main road (this is ChongQin so no problem with taxi in the middle of the night!).

The taxi driver is quite chatty and warn me of some bad restaurant which fake ChongQin steamboat 火锅。He teach me how to distinguish the real vs fake steamboat.

He drop me at a big carpark which is lighted by yellow streetlights.
300 meter away has a container which looks like police post/station. It has the distinct police siren lights circling non-stop.

Few people standing around but none take any notice of the siren.

I stand around and enjoying the cool night air.

Few more people gathering around. The air is crisp and everything is calm except the siren which nobody care.

At 6am sharp, a coach stopped in front of us and a young man come out of the stairs. He hold a piece of paper and a queue formed up in front of him automatically.

One by one, everyone go up to the coach. Suddenly, I realized that most people do not carry luggage... ok, they only carry a day pack.

The young man look at my luggage and shake his head. He mumbled something like you have to carry your own luggage and point me to load it into the luggage compartment.

After I load up my luggage, I board the bus and everyone was sleeping and so do I. Nice, peace and quiet. Zzz...

****

We were woken by the tour guide who fluently introduce the tour itinerary. We stopped at ZiGong 子贡 and picked up a couple….
… later, I got a chance to speak to the man (a young man), who says that he is only accompanying his lady boss for a holiday. 

****

The tour went fast and I wake up in the morning realized that I’m leaving the tour group today. The tour group will continue back to ChongQin but I’ll break from the group and return to Chengdu.

My tour guide is aware of my situation. He says that after lunch, I’ll leave the group. He had already arrange with the lunch restaurant owner for a ride to Chengdu. 40RMB.

I ask him to arrange for a hotel in Chengdu but he cannot help me because he is not familiar.

I’m stuck. I do not want to go Chengdu without a hotel booking. This will be nerve whacking. My mood was spoilt. Worry sunk in and cannot enjoy the tour of Bao Guo Shi 报国寺。

My worried face was noticed by Zhang Da Ge from Shanghai. Yes, everyone in my tour group was from ChongQin except Zhang Da Ge who was from Shanghai. He had retired and was touring around china on his own.

After I told him my problem, he says no problem at all. He took out his mobile phone and dial CTRIP. I recalled a hotel that I wanted to stay and ask CTRIP to book for me. What about credit card number? CTRIP says no need, Zhang Da Ge already told them to book under his account.

I’m in debt to him. A warm feeling rose from my heart.

Bao Guo Shi 报国寺 become so brilliant and I immerse in it's richness...

Thank you

http://www.hytrip.net/upload/2009_06/090...430611.jpg

[yeokiwi]

Instead of returning by train (which is how I came in the first place), I decided to join a tour group. I will take a slow ride of 3 days 2 nights going to LeShan 乐山 and 娥媚山 . All inclusive tour at less than 500RMB. This gives me a chance to gain a first hand experience of a truely Chinese tour group....

I did it once in Beijing. I joined a local Chinese tour group to visit the Great Walls and Ming Tombs. Cheap ticket.
It was quite interesting. The entire trip was narrated in Chinese obviously and peppered with detailed chinese history.

When we reached the Great Walls, the tour guide started to distribute vouchers.... We were liked "what the hack is that???".
Later, we realised that the vouchers were meant to buy a cheap lunch(very very cheap) at their local canteen at Great Wall.

After lunch, we walked around and we realised that the place that we dropped by and had lunch was meant for local tourists. The foreign tourists would alight at a more atas location with nice restaurants and eateries.

Every place that we dropped by to rest, buy and eat was meant for locals which was pretty interesting.

The only grudge was that the local tourists liked to smoke in bus but luckily, the tour guide lady would oppose vehemently.
I still can remember "别抽了，别抽了，这车会爆炸！！‘
I think the bus was running on LPG.

[pianist]

How was leshan and emei Shan?

[chialc]

:-)
I guess the law enforcement is working fine now.

Nobody dare to smoke in the bus.

Every time, before the bus started, you'll see the smoker quickly puffing off before boarding.

Eureka!

[touzi]

I will take a slow ride of 3 days 2 nights going to LeShan 乐山 and 娥媚山 . All inclusive tour at less than 500RMB.

Where do you stay for that 2 nights? What kind of hotel? How do you book this local tour? Thanks.

One by one, everyone go up to the coach. Suddenly, I realized that most people do not carry luggage... ok, they only carry a day pack.

I notice that the mainland Chinese travel very light for short domestic trips, and I mean VERY LIGHT.

[chialc]

How was leshan and emei Shan?

fun.
in emei, I saw the rare 佛光 too.

---

Where do you stay for that 2 nights? What kind of hotel? How do you book this local tour? Thanks.

Booking - 中青旅 www.aoyou.com (I didn't book from internet, I book when in ChongQin)
Hotel - not international style. I suspect is for local only. Rooms/in-room facility/style is identical for two hotels (nights) that I stayed.
However, if you pay more money, you will be staying in either a better room or another high-end hotel. I think you should upgrade because you deserve better.

[Image: u=2592174253,248633543&fm=23&gp=0.jpg]

天天快乐。

[etan]

Thanks for sharing; it's soooo beautiful! You are so lucky to be there at the right time! Btw, what is the best time of the day to visit ErMei Shan?

Pray hard to see 峨眉山金顶佛光.
[Image: %E5%B3%A8%E7%9C%89%E5%B1%B1%E4%BD%9B%E5%85%89.jpg]

ErMei Shan

天天快乐。

[chialc]

etah, this piece is for you:

金顶 is the top of ErMeiShan.
Nothing smell fresher than here.
Noticed that there is always a gentle breeze coming from somewhere.
Relax, close your eyes for one second and take a deep breath...

Delighted.

It's bright sunshine and you look at your watch... it's 2pm... but it sure feel like 7am in the morning...
Fresh, energized and young at heart! Everything is about having a right mindset.

****

I hold a humble heart.

I am amazed by the effort of the Chinese.
Building such a grand stand at 3000 meter height... bringing up brick by brick.

I bow down and my heart immediately filled with gratitude.

A man walk pass me.
Suddenly, he turn his head and murmuring to me.
He did not stop.
He continue walking but use his left hand pointing downward.
He continue walking and gesture one more time towards a staircase running down slope.

I smile at him... nice... friendly person.

I'm heading down 金顶.
I'm on a tour, so logically I would had followed the same path that I came up earlier.
However, I thought a little bit of adventure should be fine.

With enthusiasm, I followed the new path, going down slope and skirting along a cliff.
With the brilliant sun shining on my back, plus a hazy cloud beneath the cliff, I can see a rainbow sphere 30 degree down.

All my hair stands up and I closed my eyes immediately to pray.

*******

etan, most tour will reach 金顶 way late in the afternoon and that would be a simple reason why so little people see the 佛光... I guess... among many other reasons.

有缘千里来相会，无缘对面不相逢。

I'm lucky and so will you.

Hope to see you soon.

天天快乐.

[etan]

chialc,
TQ! I can sense that you are really enjoying every second while up there! It's like living in paradise... I am beginning to feel like kind of being bitten by the travel bug!
Also, don't forget to visit Juizhaigou, another lovely place, with lots of waterfalls, the scenery is really beautiful too, best to visit around month of Oct.
You sound like you are so carefree, spending months roaming the world!
Enjoy!